Call for Application: Earn Your Doctorate With the Graduate School Practices of Literature

• Profile & Curriculum

  PhD projects should be related to the research profile of the GSPoL, which comprises the following three areas:
  
  1. Literature, Culture and Society
  relationship between literature, culture and society; social theories; cultural theories; cultural turn and/in literary studies

  2. Theories of Literature and Culture
  science studies; history, theory, and methodology of/in literary/cultural studies

  3. Literary/Cultural Studies and the Professional World
  professional sectors that require expertise in literary/cultural studies; the literary marketplace; transferable skills

  Areas of study: English/American Studies; Arabic/Islamic Studies; German Studies; Latin Studies; Middle and New Latin Studies, Dutch Studies; Scandinavian Studies; Romance Studies (Main Areas: French, Spanish and Italian Literature); Sinology; Slavic Studies.

  Curriculum: Lecture series, colloquia, group projects, workshops, practical training, and academic teaching

  Mentoring: Each doctoral candidate will have an individual, interdisciplinary support group consisting of three members. A mentoring agreement and an individual timeline will be established and signed by the PhD candidate and their supervisors. The supervisors will assist the candidate in applying for a scholarship.

  Find out more about our supervisors and their research areas.

• Formal Admission Requirements

  • a GSPoL-related university degree (generally a master's degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 2.0; or, in exceptional cases, a bachelor’s degree with a minimum grade of 1.50)
  • German and English language skills (one language at the level of C1, the other at the level of B1, in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
  • additional foreign language skills according to Annex B of the PhD study regulations of the department of philology or the department of history/philosophy (see also  FAQs)

• Application Process and Deadlines

  	Deadline	Interview
  Admission for the Winter Term (starting 1 October)	May 31	June to July
  Admission for the Summer Term (starting 1 April)	November 30	January to February

• Application Documents

  Applications to the Graduate School must be submitted in written form (in German or English; via email as a single PDF file) and should include:

  • application form
  • letter of motivation giving reasons for the application at the GSPoL;
  • proof that the applicant has completed a GSPoL-related university degree (generally a master’s degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 2.0 or a bachelor’s degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 1.50) according to § 5 (1) the GSPoL study regulations); please include a degree certificate and a transcript of records listing your courses and grades; international applicants should add an explanation of the grading system at their home university;
  • Important Notice: An APS certificate is required for applicants with a degree from China, India, or Vietnam.
  • proof of German, English and possibly additional foreign language skills according to § 5 (2) of the GSPoL study regulations;
  • curriculum vitae (without photograph);
  • a brief (approx. half-page) abstract of the dissertation project;
  • project proposal of approx. 10 pages in length, which discusses the research aims and methodology as well as the contents, originality and significance of the project;
  • detailed timeline;
  • two letters of recommendation; if the applicant holds a bachelor’s degree or completed university studies with a regular duration of less than eight semesters, three references are required.

  Please submit your application (via email as a single PDF file, except for the letters of recommendation, which should be sent separately by the professor) to:

  Dr. Anna Thiemann

  Graduate School Practices of Literature
  Universität Münster, Fachbereich 09 (Philologie)
  c/o Germanistisches Institut
  Schlossplatz 34
  48143 Münster 
  admissions.gspol@uni-muenster.de

  For further information please contact

  Dr. Anna Thiemann (Coordination Office)
  admissions.gspol@uni-muenster.de